Thursday, December 12, 2013

WTF Amaro!

Ruin Tomorrow Jr. is a waste of brain cells. The man is a terrible GM. Reading baseball analysts' opinion/outlook on the 2014 Philadelphia Phillies proves that nobody has respect for him, nor should they. He's assembled a cast of over-the-hills and crap. There is barely any serious talent on the Phillies. Sure, Hamels and Lee are awesome, but other than that, what sure thing do they have? Nothing!

Amaro inked his back-end of the rotation starting pitcher today, the artist formerly known as Fausto Carmona (aka- Roberto Hernandez). He is 33 years old, right-handed, owns a losing record of 59-82 with a 4.67 ERA and 1.42 WHIP with the Indians and Rays. He's coming off a season in which his ERA was 4.89 over 151 innings, yet Amaro graciously forked over a 1 YR/$4.5M contract. Other than 2007 and 2010, he's been terrible (Check out these ERAs- 5.42, 5.44, 6.32, 5.25, 7.53, 4.89). That inspires confidence, doesn't it? Hell no!

This move does not make the team better. Does this mean Pettibone, a young inexpensive arm with upside, is bumped from the rotation? I hate what Amaro has done to this team. Hate!

It's an Epidemic!

Seems like even the bad players are making big money nowadays though. Clint Barmes, who's OPS hasn't cracked .600 the past 2 seasons, just re-upped with Pittsburgh for 1 YR/$2M. Michael Morse, a man who can't field and is coming off a .215/.651 campaign got 1 YR/$6M from the Giants. Juan Oviedo, who didn't even pitch last season got 1 YR/$1.5M from Tampa Bay. Rafael Furcal, who also didn't play last year, got 1 YR/$3M from the Marlins. Corey Hart, yet another that did not participate in 2013, got 1 YR/$6M from the Mariners. Oh, the madness doesn't stop there, as Felipe Paulino who didn't pitch in 2013 either, got 1 YR/$1.75M from White Sox. Phil Hughes, who's ERA has been 5.19 or higher in 2 out of the past 3 seasons, got 3 YR/$24M from Minnesota. Brendan Ryan, and his consistently plummeting OPS, got 2 YR/$5M from the Yankees. Edinson Volquez, coming off a year where he pitched in 2 of the most pitcher friendly parks in baseball to the tune of a 5.71 ERA, landed a 1 YR/$5M deal with the cash strapped Pirates. And last, but not least, Derek Jeter got 1 YR/$12M from the Yankees, even though he'll be 40 next year and only played in 17 games last season.

*Late addition- Joba Chamberlain got 1 YR/$2.5M from the Tigers despite ERA/WHiPs of 4.35/1.55 and 4.93/1.74 the past two seasons.

31 comments:

The Carmona/Hernandez/Whateverhisnameis signing is not a horrible one provided one thing. They came into the off season needing to add 2 starters to the rotation mix, this guy is the first one and if they add one more pitcher in there then Hernandez is depth and will compete with Pettibone, KK, and Gonzalez. Not one of these guys are guaranteed a rotation spot but have to win it in spring. If they could somehow add Tanaka or an overpriced Garza (hey its not my money) then this contract is fine. Even another mid range starter would likely be ok, but if this is all then the offseason is likely to be a failure. Same goes for outfield and bullpen, both need at least one more player added to the mix. Go another couple of months yet, get r dun

Though his ERA wasn't all that impressive, Hernandez was primarily done in by the fact that 20.9 percent of his fly-balls left the park -- a rate that is nearly twice as high as his career mark. Assuming that trend was an anomaly, it could be reasonable to expect a 2014 ERA that more closely resembles Hernandez's 3.60 xFIP or 3.66 SIERA -- both of which reward him for solid command and a plus ground-ball rate.

Hernandez's best season came in 2007 when he finished fourth in the American League Cy Young voting after posting a 3.06 ERA in 215 innings for the Indians. A hip injury derailed his 2008 campaign and likely impacted his 2009 season as well, but he came back strong with Cleveland in 2010, posting a 3.77 ERA in 210 1/3 innings and earning his first All-Star selection.

A move to the National League for the first time in his career will likely benefit Hernandez, and his career 57.8 percent ground-ball rate will play well in the small dimensions of Citizens Bank Park.

Sir Alden- I've read from multiple respected outlets the the players' heath insurance/benefits play a large part of the salary as well. Not to mention, living expenses while on the road. All that money goes towards the luxury cap, so teams need to stay at least about $10M below in order to not get whacked.

Amaro went on record today saying the team is probably done adding major pieces. Anybody else will likely be on a minor league contract/invite to spring training type thing. He said the Phillies are currently constructed are "built to win". The asshat is f'n delusional!

This signing would be ok if he were competing with Kendrick for the number 5 spot in the rotation. Instead, he is going to be counted on to take the ball every fifth day as will Kendrick and Miguel Gonzalez, a guy that has never thrown a major league pitch.

Is it me or is Ruben Amaro acting more and more like Ed Wade every season?

It's a business, not a sunday softball league. The owners invest a ton of money and should be rewarded with profit. Going over the luxury tax threshold wouldn't be necessary had Amaro not shit away the funds.

I think what SirAlden is saying is that they still make a ton of profit no matter what, so why can't they put a decent product on the field and presumably make even more with the extra ticket sales and merchandise?

Evidently Carmona/Hernandez grew up a Phillies phan and turned down more money elsewhere to play here, so there's that. Nice story at least. Again, deal itself if ok, but terrible in the context of the rest of the team, a recurring theme with this offseason.

I have no problem with Hernandez's contract. What I would have a problem with is if there is no other pitchers signed and its Hamels & Lee with the last 3 left to KK, Gonzalez, Pettibone, and Hernandez. They need another arm thrown into this mix. Maybe they consider Biddle and Martin as viable SP canidates, but I would think both should not be counted of being in that mix to start the season.

Now if the only other competition brought in is AAA filler, then its just a shame that they will not go the extra distance to field a better team who could conceivably be a contender.

I love you bro' but you need to go re-read John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath".

Boeing in Washington State on Average Pays $28 dollars an hour for skilled labor after 6 years. They now have come to the workforce and said "Let's have it be $17 dollars an hour, and then $28 after 16 years. OR we will move.

They are competing with AirBus who pays it's workers more than Boeing and returns less to the Owners.

We are no longer in a Free Market - no one can start a new Jet-Plane company because of the Capital Requirements. In a free market the players would move to a new league, the trained aircraft workers would move across the street to a new Manufacturer. For your information - Manufacturing is making the highest return on capital invested in History, but because of "The Grapes of Wrath" they can move to eliminate the Middle Class of Policemen, Teachers, and Highly Skilled Jet Airplane Workers.

Do you really want to fly in a plane where the head of household that builds it takes home $1100 every two weeks?

The Phillies are about to announce a Multi-Billion Dollar Contract. John Middleton got lucky - It is his Daddy's Money. He should be a steward of the Team and not pocket over 100 Million Dollars each year.

This is our team. Not his. He can go to the Luxury Tax and past it.

But what the ruling class (and I am one of them) gets away with - is your being Mad at Reuben Amaro and Ryan Howard. Trust me they are laughing at all of you, they believe that they are superior to you, and they easily manipulate you.

Just try to Google the exact Phillies Owners today and see how it has been scrubbed from the internet. Your name can be scrubbed from the internet if you pay to do so.

Not entirety sure why the Pirates, after finally ending 20 years of futility, took that affirmative step towards sucking again, but hey, whatever floats their boat. Have fun playing with the young'uns in the minors, Mini-Mart!